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Cat grooming is not just essential to improve your feline’s appearance but also to maintain her health. However, grooming your furballs is not so easy a task. Cats in themselves are super fastidious about neatness, but we all know they hate getting wet. So, use these cat grooming tips for a pain-free grooming experience.
There are chances of you getting scratched if your cat gets offensive while you try to groom her. The best way is to make the cat used to grooming sessions since kittenhood. If yours is not the case, there are some useful tips you can keep in mind while grooming your cat.
The 15 Tips Helpful in Grooming a Cat
Besides enjoying with your cutie kitty you also need to take care of her health. Cats are known to groom themselves more often but sometimes they require our help as well.
Grooming a cat means maintaining her health by keeping the bad things like dust, debris, and bacterias away. You may need the best cat grooming tools to ensure that they get perfect grooming.
However, you must follow a few tips to keep yourself and your cat safe.
1. Get Your Cat Used to Have Her Touched
The best time to start with cat grooming is her early childhood. But if you haven’t done so then you should first make your cat used to get touched.
Play with her furs and pet her legs, belly, and paws gently. Press her legs and paws in a manner of a soft massage.
Repeat this for quite a few days or weeks until your cat gets comfortable with it.
2. Schedule Grooming When Your Cat is Relaxed
You can take away a lot of tension simply by choosing the correct time for grooming. Choose a time when your cat is relaxed. For instance, she is most relaxed after eating. You can also exhaust her by making her play a lot an hour before you plan to groom. She will then need to relax and will not make frequent movements.
Sometimes an emergency can arise to groom a cat because of infections or parasites. In such a case, if your cat does not cooperate then you can opt to sedate her. However, consult a vet before using any sedative medications.
3. Make the Grooming Sessions Fun
Cat grooming has to be fun for you as well as your feline. Grooming a cat can be a big difficulty, especially, if your cat is quite opposed to the idea. But if the same becomes a regular playtime activity then she will eagerly wait for it.
Involve her favorite toys and snacks to keep her busy with.
The rewards shall assure her that grooming sessions mean a tasty treat and a good playful time. Initially keep the grooming sessions as short as 10-15 minutes. You may gradually increase the time and process, with every other session.
4. Brush Away the Dirt
Use brushes to keep the dirt away from your kitty’s coat. Regular brushing will help keep the coat, dust-free and healthy. It will also spread the sebum, secreted from a cat’s skin, onto the fur. This will lubricate her hair and make them look shinier.
If your cat has short hairs then brushing is the best way to remove any debris or unwanted particles. Brush onto her belly very gently. Brush her hair upwards on her back, legs, and tail to pull the dirt out.
5. Detangle the Mats
If you have a cat with long hairs she might develop mats. Although cats who are unable to groom themselves due to painful illness, also tend to develop mats. Combing the hairs daily is recommended to avoid hair tangles. You should use wide-toothed combs because the mats are thick and knotted.
Be gentle while you pull through the tangles. Use undercoat combs for cats that have a thick undercoat. Whereas, a mat comb also known as the razor-comb is specifically designed to cut the hairs as you brush. Do not forget to hold the base of the hairs to lessen the pain while pulling.
If nothing works well then you can cut the mats away with the help of Electric clippers and Blades. Make sure the clipper is not too warm. A cat’s skin is very sensitive for a warm device. However, it is recommended that you get it done through a trained groomer.
6. Give Your Cat a Haircut
Some cats do need a hair cut especially those with long hairs. Trimming away the unwanted hairs is a necessary part of grooming. If you have one funky furball with fluffy long hairs then you will first require to detangle her hairs.
Comb through the coat carefully and cut the excess hairs using scissors. Place the comb between the skin and the scissors. The scissors must not touch or hurt her skin. Make sure you cut all the hairs of equal length.
If your kitties have a comparatively short fur, you may use electric hair clippers. However, it is best to get the trimming done by a professional groomer.
7. Treat the Dandruff
Many humans notice that they are allergic to dander, urine, and saliva of cats. It is therefore important to take care of the hygiene along with the pet’s health.
A Dander Remover Spray is one of the most effective products to treat dandruff in cats.
Spray the dander remover on a mitt and rub it onto your cat’s fur. A regular dandruff treatment will help to keep the dander off your cats.
8. Clean the Shed Hairs
Use Shedding Tools to reduce hair shedding in cats. They help remove the hairballs and the loose hairs from her coat. Hence, it can also keep the shed hairs away from your furniture and floor.
Choose to groom your cat’s hair with a Hair Removal Mitt after brushing or hair cutting. A hair removal mitt helps you pull all the loose hairs off her fur coat.
Similarly, tools like Hair Removal Rollers easily remove all the loose hair from your cat’s coat. Moreover, these also work well on sofas, carpets, beds and even on your clothes to clean shed hairs.
9. Bathe the Cat
Before you plan to give a bath to your cat be sure she actually needs it. All cats are amazing self groomers and they keep their coats super clean. However, you might need to give her a bath if you want to treat her for mites or fleas. Another reason could be that your cat is too old or sick and she is unable to lick all of her furs.
As we know cats hate getting wet, it can be quite challenging to convince her to take a bath. Try giving her lots of love and treats. Once your cat is ready for bathing, gather all the essentials. You will need a tub of water, Shampoos & Conditioners, Brushes and, Mitts.
Take care that the water should neither be warm nor too cold. Wet her coat using a hand shower. Apply flea treatment shampoo and conditioner if your cat has fleas. Use a normal cat shampoo and conditioner for regular washing. Rub the furs gently and wash the hairs with soft pressure. Avoid eyes, nose, and ears while you clean her fur.
10. Take Care of Allergies
While you use any product be it shampoo, conditioner, dander spray, or any topical medications, first check the contents. Be very careful if your cat is allergic to any chemicals or fragrances.
Cats with allergies often feel very itchy and get other skin problems. Allergies may even cause itchy eyes, nose or ears. Cats with asthma are noticed sneezing, wheezing and coughing.
Moreover, never use a dog product on a cat. Cat’s skin is too sensitive and a dog product may cause allergy to her. Always ask your vet about which products to use. If you notice any allergic reaction then visit your vet immediately.
11. Cut the Nails
We prefer to cut cat claws as a replacement to declawing. Although cats do not require nail cutting, we cut their claws because the sharp point hurts us and our children. You will have to cut the cat nails every month as they grow back like in humans.
Different types of cat nail clippers are available like guillotine type and scissors type. Use whichever you find more comfortable to use. Wrap your cat in a towel and take out only one paw at a time. Carefully cut only the tip of the nails.
12. Avoid Cutting the Quick
The most important thing to keep in mind is never cut the Quick while cutting the nail. The pink part that you see in a cat’s nail is quick. We only have to cut the pointed tips of her nails and not beyond that.
If accidentally you cut the quick then it will start bleeding. However, a variety of Styptic Gels & Powders are available for cats that help stop the bleeding. Ask your vet to prescribe you one that suits your cat.
13. Clean Her Teeth
Take care of your cat’s dental and oral health by brushing her teeth at regular intervals. Furthermore, you may provide her with chew-toys to reduce the plaque build-up.
Additionally, you may use an oral rinse to kill bacterias in her mouth and decrease the mouth odor.
14. Visit a Professional Groomer
We know you love grooming your cat on your own, and you have all the tools to do so. In spite of this fact, it is recommended to visit a professional groomer regularly. No one can do it better than the professionals.
They know how to keep your cat calm during grooming sessions. Moreover, they have total knowledge of tools and products that are meant specifically for cats.
15. Most Importantly Visit a Vet
Visit a veterinarian hospital and get your cat examined regularly for any disease or infections. Get her overall health checked and get proper treatments done if required. Ask the vet to prescribe allergy-free, mild, and safe grooming products for your cat.
Joseph was a full-time cat groomer at his own pet salon before he co-founded CatLovesBest with Clara. With a bachelor’s in veterinary science, he has been doing cat grooming for more than 10 years. He is also an aspiring animal breeder with specialization in the standards, behavioral traits, and coat cuts that are desired for the breed. He has experience with many kinds of pets, large and small and cats are his true love.
